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Impact of horizontal resolution on simulation of precipitation extremes in an aqua-planet version of Community Atmospheric Model (CAM3)

Journal Article · · Tellus. Series A, Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography (Online)
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  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
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One key question regarding current climate models is whether the projection of climate extremes converges to a realistic representation as the spatial and temporal resolutions of the model are increased. Ideally the model extreme statistics should approach a fixed distribution once the resolutions are commensurate with the characteristic length and time scales of the processes governing the formation of the extreme phenomena of interest. In this study, a series of AGCM runs with idealized 'aquaplanet-steady-state' boundary conditions have been performed with the Community Atmosphere Model CAM3 to investigate the effect of horizontal resolution on climate extreme simulations. The use of the aquaplanet framework highlights the roles of model physics and dynamics and removes any apparent convergence in extreme statistics due to better resolution of surface boundary conditions and other external inputs. Assessed at a same large spatial scale, the results show that the horizontal resolution and time step have strong effects on the simulations of precipitation extremes. The horizontal resolution has a much stronger impact on precipitation extremes than on mean precipitation. Updrafts are strongly correlated with extreme precipitation at tropics at all the resolutions, while positive low-tropospheric temperature anomalies are associated with extreme precipitation at mid-latitudes.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; FC02-97ER62402
OSTI ID:
1671755
Journal Information:
Tellus. Series A, Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography (Online), Journal Name: Tellus. Series A, Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography (Online) Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 63; ISSN 1600-0870
Publisher:
International Meteorological Inst.Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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The effect of horizontal resolution on simulation quality in the Community Atmospheric Model, CAM5.1 journal November 2014
Future changes to the intensity and frequency of short-duration extreme rainfall: FUTURE INTENSITY OF SUB-DAILY RAINFALL journal August 2014
Evidence for added value of convection-permitting models for studying changes in extreme precipitation: EXTREME RAINFALL RESPONSE TO SST CHANGES journal December 2015
Resolution dependence of precipitation statistical fidelity in hindcast simulations: ILIAD SIMULATIONS OF PRECIPITATION journal June 2016
Tropical precipitation extremes: Response to SST-induced warming in aquaplanet simulations: PRECIP. EXTREMES journal April 2017
Rainfall From Resolved Rather Than Parameterized Processes Better Represents the Present‐Day and Climate Change Response of Moderate Rates in the Community Atmosphere Model journal April 2018
Climate change scenarios of convective and large-scale precipitation in the Czech Republic based on EURO-CORDEX data: CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS OF CONVECTIVE AND LARGE-SCALE PRECIPITATION journal August 2016
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How well are daily intense rainfall events captured by current climate models over Africa? journal May 2013
GCMs with implicit and explicit representation of cloud microphysics for simulation of extreme precipitation frequency journal October 2014
Mid-Western US heavy summer-precipitation in regional and global climate models: the impact on model skill and consensus through an analogue lens journal April 2018
State-of-the-art climate modeling of extreme precipitation over Africa: analysis of CORDEX added-value over CMIP5 journal October 2018
Assessment of future flood hazard in Europe using a large ensemble of bias-corrected regional climate simulations: FUTURE FLOOD HAZARD AND CLIMATE CHANGE journal September 2012
Model Resolution Sensitivity of the Simulation of North Atlantic Oscillation Teleconnections to Precipitation Extremes journal October 2018
Precipitation Characteristics in the Community Atmosphere Model and Their Dependence on Model Physics and Resolution journal July 2019
Daily Precipitation Threshold for Rainstorm and Flood Disaster in the Mainland of China: An Economic Loss Perspective journal January 2020
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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES